Looked-after children refer to those under the care of local authorities due to neglect, abuse, family dysfunction, parental alcohol and drug misuse, bereavement or loss of family. According to the Children Act 1989, a child is considered looked after by a local authority if they meet one of the following criteria: provided with accommodation for a continuous period of more than 24 hours (Children Act 1989, Section 20 and 21), subject to a care order (Children Act 1989, Part IV), or subject to a placement order. These children often experience trauma before and during care, resulting in a high prevalence of mental health challenges. According to the Department for Education (2023), as of 2023, 83,840 children were in the care of local authorities in England. Children aged 10 to 15 years form the largest group, with abuse or neglect being the most common reason at 65% of all cases. Family dysfunction accounts for 13% of cases involving children in care.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction are closely linked to poor mental health outcomes and increased risk of delinquency. Hence, my dissertation investigates the complex interplay between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), mental health challenges, and the criminalisation of care-experienced children in England. It focuses on the systemic gaps in support and how these contribute to the disproportionate representation of these children in the criminal justice system.

My dissertation employed a critical review of secondary literature, analysing both qualitative and quantitative data from diverse sources such as academic studies, government reports, and policy evaluations. The methodology focuses on exploring mental health challenges among care-experienced children, understanding how systemic failures contribute to criminalisation, and identifying gaps in current interventions and policies.

Chapter 3 of the dissertation talks about Adverse Childhood Experiences and mental health in care-experienced children. It explored the prevalence and impact of ACEs on care-experienced children. These experiences were linked to severe mental health outcomes, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, Conduct Disorder (CD), depression, substance use and dependence and so on. The key insights were that 45% of care-experienced children in England have diagnosable mental health disorders. ACEs, such as neglect and abuse, are understood to disrupt the development of emotional, cognitive, and social abilities in children. Furthermore, trauma experienced in the early years has lasting neurobiological and psychological effects. In addition, this chapter discusses how instability in the care system, frequent placement changes and lack of consistent support, unaddressed mental health needs or frequent disruptions in care interrupt access to mental health services, diminishing opportunities for resilience-building. Therefore, this influences challenging behaviours in children.

Chapter 4 critiques the policies and legal frameworks designed to safeguard the mental health of children in care. While policies such as the Children Act 1989, Every Child Matters and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 framework have sought to address these issues, there appear to be significant gaps between what the policies state and what is practiced. For example, there seems to be insufficient mental health support services, particularly for children in care.

Chapter 5 examined the relationship between mental ill health and offending behaviours among care-experienced children. The key findings were care-experienced children are three to four times more likely to have mental health challenges. 65% of children entering care do so due to trauma, with frequent placement changes worsening their mental health due to poor consistency in care. Over 50% of children in care have criminal records by age 24, compared to 13% of the general population. Children in residential care homes, in particular, are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system due to over-policing and criminalisation of challenging behaviours. Furthermore, some research underlined that mental health challenges caused by ACEs and childhood neglect increase the likelihood of risk-taking and offending behaviours. This chapter also highlights how the justice system often fails to recognise the trauma influencing these behaviours, leading to the cycles of disadvantage and criminalisation.

The findings and discussion reveal a critical need for systemic reform to address the challenges of poor mental health services and the criminalisation of children in care. It explains how unaddressed trauma appears to contribute to both poor mental health and criminal behaviours. It highlights that care-experienced children are disproportionately overrepresented in the criminal justice system, with institutional responses often exacerbating rather than mitigating these children's challenges. Finally, it highlights that inadequate coordination between children's social services, health care, and justice systems leads to fragmented support, leaving children vulnerable to further harm.

My dissertation conclusion emphasised the urgent need to break the cycle of trauma, poor mental health, and criminalisation of care-experienced children through adopting Trauma-Informed Practices both in children's care services and justice systems. It emphasised the need for early intervention as such an approach may help address mental health challenges before they escalate into behavioural issues. Furthermore, it calls for policy reforms to prioritise welfare and rehabilitation over punishment, particularly for minor infractions within care settings, and prevent over-policing these vulnerable groups.

Additionally, my dissertation highlights significant gaps in understanding and addressing the needs of care-experienced children. Therefore, it calls for further research to explore the long-term impacts of ACEs and mental health in understanding challenging/ offending behaviours and possible interventions.

Reference:

Gov.uk (2023), Children looked after in England including adoptions. Available at

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2023 (accessed 20th December 2024)

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